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List of hard science fiction films and television
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This is a list of hard science fiction films and television organized chronologically. Requirements for inclusion in the list: *No time travel *No faster-than-light (FTL) travel or wormhole travel; no "warp speed" or "hyperspace" *No teleportation *No space travel without propellant (and a large enough vessel in which to store it) or without solar or magnetic sails *No walnut-sized nuclear reactors *Unknown elements or compounds cannot be introduced to fuel spacecraft or high-energy processes *No gravity, anti-gravity, levitation, or anti-acceleration machines (a.k.a. "inertial dampening") *No space maneuvers based on aerial dogfight mechanics *No egregious violations of conservation of energy or egregious uses of energy *No personal flying cars under complete operator control *No ESP, telekinesis, or fortune-telling *No force shields, light sabers, or laser beams visible in the vacuum of space *Technological alien civilizations cannot be common *No alien invasions because the home-world has a shortage of water or humans to eat *No heat ray or laser pistols *No instant rejuvenation *(No fantasy elements e.g. magic, super-powers, or ghosts) Rationale: 1. Science or technology plays a central role. 2. The scientific principles involved are accepted science or represent a sufficiently plausible extrapolation. 3. The technology can be near term or distant future. List of Hard Science Fiction Films *Things to Come (1936) Justification: Speculative fiction about a second world war, its aftermath, and a space program. *Destination Moon (1950) Justification: Speculative fiction about an American space program to visit the moon. Realistic discussions of the challenges including public opposition to the use of nuclear rocket engines. *20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (1954) Justification: Speculative fiction about submarine technology. *On the Beach (1959) Justification: Speculative fiction about the end of the world by nuclear holocaust. *2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) Justification: Speculative near-future fiction about space travel in the solar system. Addresses the duration of missions and presents realistic movements of masses in space. Exceptions: The end of the film changes course to include actual or perceived FTL, teleportation, rapid aging, or time travel. *Outbreak (1995) Justification: Speculative near-future fiction about the outbreak of a high-mortality, fast-spreading disease in part of the U.S. *Gattacca (1997) Justification: Speculative near-future fiction about DNA sequences, DNA manipulation, and discrimination based on DNA. *The Truman Show (1998) Justification: Speculative near-future fiction about media intrusion, surveillance, corporate control, and the insatiable desire for public entertainment. *28 Days Later (2002) Justification: Speculative near-future fiction about the outbreak of a lab-created disease that prevents the infected from controlling anger leading to rage and the uncontrollable spread of the disease. *Code 46 (2003) Justification: Speculative near-future fiction about a police state with DNA records of citizens, the rigid separation of 'haves' from 'have nots', and environmental degradation. *Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004) Justification: Speculative near-future fiction about the use of localized brain damage to forget the past. *V for Vendetta (2005) Justification: Speculative near-future fiction about a political movement and revolt against a high surveillance, police state in the UK. *Children of Men (2006) Justification: Speculative near-future fiction about the sterilization of all humanity and the appearance of the UK after years without the birth of a child. *Idiocracy (2006) Justification: A satire about the consequences of 500 years of anti-intellectualism, advertising, and commercialism run amok. *The Man from Earth (2007) Justification: A quiet, zero special effects, science fiction film about a man whose cells repair themselves so effectively that he has managed to live thousands of years. *Gamer (2009) Justification: Science fiction combining virtual reality and biology, with gamers piggybacking on the experiences of real people and those hosts able or forced to yield control of their bodies to their gamers. *Moon (2009) Justification: Science fiction at a moon base. Exceptions: (May spoil half the movie.) *Carriers (2009) Justification: Fiction about the end of the world by infectious disease. List of Hard Science Fiction Television Productions *Jericho (2006) Justification: Speculative near-future fiction about recovery after nuclear attacks in the U.S. *The Last Enemy (2008) Justification: Speculative near-future fiction about a UK police state hunting illegal immigrants and terrorists by surveilling and watermarking its people. *Survivors (2008) Justification: Speculative near-future fiction about the struggle to survive in the UK after a high-mortality disease outbreak. *Life on Mars (2008-2009) Justification: (Cannot be provided without spoiling the ending of the one-season series.)
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